Columnist Has a Cup—and Some Snacks—With Nobility at the Pierre

When we got together for tea at the Pierre Hotel on Monday afternoon, I didn’t ask the Countess of Carnarvon, who has been referred to as “the real mistress of ‘Downton Abbey,’ ” to reveal any plot twists in the coming season. She’s the wife of Geordie Herbert, the eighth Earl of Carnarvon and Queen Elizabeth II’s godson. The couple’s Victorian home, Highclere Castle, serves as the setting for the popular television period drama. It’s been...